Substrate processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A substrate processing apparatus includes a rotary table comprising a base plate having a front surface where at least one suction hole is provided and an attraction plate having a front surface contacted with a non-processing surface of a substrate to attract the substrate, a rear surface contacted with the front surface of the base plate, and at least one through hole through which the front surface and the rear surface are connected; a rotation driving device configured to rotate the rotary table around a rotation axis; and a suction device configured to act a suction force on the suction hole, to contact the base plate with the attraction plate by acting the suction force between the base plate and the attraction plate, and to firmly contact the attraction plate with the substrate by acting the suction force between the attraction plate and the substrate through the through hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2018-182832 filed on Sep. 27, 2018, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The various aspects and embodiments described herein pertain generallyto a substrate processing apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In the manufacture of a semiconductor device, a wide variety of liquidprocessings such as a chemical liquid cleaning processing, a platingprocessing and a developing processing are performed on a substrate suchas a semiconductor wafer. As an apparatus configured to perform such aliquid processing, there is known a single-wafer liquid processingapparatus, and an example of this single-wafer liquid processingapparatus is described in Patent Document 1.

The substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1 is equipped witha spin chuck capable of holding the substrate horizontally and rotatingthe substrate around a vertical axis. The substrate is held by aplurality of holding members provided at a peripheral portion of thespin chuck at a regular distance along a circumferential directionthereof. A circular plate-shaped top surface moving member and acircular plate-shaped bottom surface moving member each having a heaterembedded therein are respectively disposed above and under the substrateheld by the spin chuck. In the substrate processing apparatus of PatentDocument 1, processings are performed in the following sequence.

First, the substrate is held by the spin chuck, and by raising thebottom surface moving member, a first gap is formed between a bottomsurface (rear surface) of the substrate and a top surface of the bottomsurface moving member. Then, a temperature-controlled chemical liquid issupplied into this first gap from a bottom surface supply passagewayopened at a central portion of the top surface of the bottom surfacemoving member, so that the first gap is filled with the chemical liquidfor surface processing. The chemical liquid is adjusted to have a presettemperature by the heater of the bottom surface moving member. In themeanwhile, a top surface supply nozzle is placed above a top surface(front surface) of the substrate to supply the chemical liquid forsurface processing, so that a puddle of the chemical liquid is formed onthe top surface of the substrate. Subsequently, the top surface supplynozzle is retreated from above the substrate, and the top surface movingmember is lowered, so that a small second gap is formed between a bottomsurface of the top surface moving member and a front surface (topsurface) of the puddle of the chemical liquid. The puddle of thechemical liquid is adjusted to have a preset temperature by the heaterembedded in the top surface moving member. In this state, a chemicalliquid processing is performed on the front and rear surfaces of thesubstrate while rotating the substrate at a low speed or withoutrotating the substrate. During the chemical liquid processing, ifnecessary, the chemical liquid is replenished onto the top surface andthe rear surface of the substrate from a chemical liquid supplypassageway opened at a central portion of the top surface moving memberand the aforementioned bottom surface supply passageway.

In the substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, thesubstrate is heated by a fluid (a processing liquid and/or a gas)existing between the substrate and the heater.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-219424

SUMMARY

In one exemplary embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus includes arotary table comprising a base plate and an attraction plate, the baseplate having a front surface in which at least one suction hole isprovided, and the attraction plate having a front surface contacted witha non-processing surface of a substrate to attract the substrate; a rearsurface contacted with the front surface of the base plate; and at leastone through hole through which the front surface and the rear surfaceare connected; a rotation driving device configured to rotate the rotarytable around a rotation axis; and a suction device configured to act asuction force on the at least one suction hole of the base plate,configured to firmly contact the base plate with the attraction plate byacting the suction force between the base plate and the attractionplate, and configured to firmly contact the attraction plate with thesubstrate by acting the suction force between the attraction plate andthe substrate through the at least one through hole.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be anyway limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, andfeatures described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the detailed description that follows, embodiments are described asillustrations only since various changes and modifications will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription. The use of the same reference numbers in different figuresindicates similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an overall configuration ofa substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view illustrating an exampleconfiguration of a processing unit provided in the substrate processingapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example layout of aheater of a hot plate provided in the processing unit;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating a top surface of the hotplate;

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example structure of abottom surface of an attraction plate provided in the processing unit;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example structure of atop surface of the attraction plate;

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example structure of afirst electrode unit provided in the processing unit;

FIG. 8 is a time chart for describing example operations of variousconstituent components of the processing unit;

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross sectional view of the attraction plate shownin FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross sectional view of the attraction platetaken along a plane different from that of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating curved attraction plates;and

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view illustrating a modification example ofthe attraction plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description. In thedrawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unlesscontext dictates otherwise. Furthermore, unless otherwise noted, thedescription of each successive drawing may reference features from oneor more of the previous drawings to provide clearer context and a moresubstantive explanation of the current exemplary embodiment. Still, theexemplary embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings,and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may beutilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from thespirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will bereadily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, asgenerally described herein and illustrated in the drawings, may bearranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a widevariety of different configurations, all of which are explicitlycontemplated herein.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus (substrate processingsystem) according to an exemplary embodiment will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an outline of the substrateprocessing system according to the exemplary embodiment. In thefollowing, in order to clarify positional relationships, the X-axis, theY-axis and the Z-axis which are orthogonal to each other will bedefined. The positive Z-axis direction will be regarded as a verticallyupward direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 includes acarry-in/out station 2 and a processing station 3. The carry-in/outstation 2 and the processing station 3 are provided adjacent to eachother.

The carry-in/out station 2 is provided with a carrier placing section 11and a transfer section 12. In the carrier placing section 11, carriers Ceach accommodating semiconductor wafers W (hereinafter, referred to as“wafers W”) horizontally are placed.

The transfer section 12 is provided adjacent to the carrier placingsection 11, and provided with a substrate transfer device 13 and adelivery unit 14. The substrate transfer device 13 is provided with awafer holding mechanism configured to hold the wafer W. Further, thesubstrate transfer device 13 is movable horizontally and vertically andpivotable around a vertical axis, and transfers the wafer W between thecarriers C and the delivery unit 14 by using the wafer holdingmechanism.

The processing station 3 is provided adjacent to the transfer section12. The processing station 3 is provided with a transfer section 15 anda plurality of processing units 16. The processing units 16 are arrangedat both sides of the transfer section 15.

The transfer section 15 is provided with a substrate transfer device 17therein. The substrate transfer device 17 is provided with a waferholding mechanism configured to hold the wafer W. Further, the substratetransfer device 17 is movable horizontally and vertically and pivotablearound a vertical axis. The substrate transfer device 17 transfers thewafers W between the delivery unit 14 and the processing unit 16 byusing the wafer holding mechanism.

The processing units 16 perform a predetermined substrate processing onthe wafer W transferred by the substrate transfer device 17.

Further, the substrate processing system 1 is equipped with a controldevice 4. The control device 4 is, for example, a computer, and includesa controller 18 and a storage 19. The storage 19 stores therein aprogram that controls various processings performed in the substrateprocessing system 1. The controller 18 controls the operation of thesubstrate processing system 1 by reading and executing the programstored in the storage 19.

Further, the program may be recorded in a computer-readable recordingmedium and may be installed to the storage 19 of the control device 4from this recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium maybe, by way of non-limiting example, a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk(FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnet optical disk (MO), a memory card, orthe like.

In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, thesubstrate transfer device 13 of the carry-in/out station 2 first takesout the wafer W from the carrier C placed in the carrier placing section11, and then places the taken wafer W on the delivery unit 14. The waferW placed on the delivery unit 14 is taken out from the delivery unit 14by the substrate transfer device 17 of the processing station 3 andcarried into the processing unit 16.

The wafer W carried into the processing unit 16 is processed by theprocessing unit 16, and then taken out from the processing unit 16 andplaced on the delivery unit 14 by the substrate transfer device 17.After the processing of placing the wafer W on the delivery unit 14, thewafer W returns back into the carrier C of the carrier placing section11 by the substrate transfer device 13.

Now, a configuration of the processing unit 16 according to theexemplary embodiment will be explained. The processing unit 16 isconfigured as a single-wafer dip liquid processing unit.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the processing unit 16 is equipped with a rotarytable 100, a processing liquid supply 700 configured to supply aprocessing liquid onto the wafer W, and a liquid recovery cup(processing cup) 800 configured to receive the processing liquidscattered from the substrate being rotated. The rotary table 100 iscapable of holding and rotating a circular substrate such as the wafer Whorizontally. The constituent components of the processing unit 16 suchas the rotary table 100, the processing liquid supply 700 and the liquidrecovery cup 800 are accommodated in a housing 900 (also referred to asa “processing chamber”). FIG. 2 illustrates only a left half of theprocessing unit 16.

The rotary table 100 includes an attraction plate 120, a hot plate 140,a support plate 170, a periphery cover body 180 and a hollow rotationshaft 200. The attraction plate 120 is configured to attract the wafer Wplaced thereon horizontally. The hot plate 140 serves as a base plate ofthe attraction plate 120, and is configured to support and heat theattraction plate 120. The support plate 170 is configured to support theattraction plate 120 and the hot plate 140. The rotation shaft 200extends downwards from the support plate 170. The rotary table 100 isrotated around a vertically extending rotation axis Ax by an electricdriving unit (rotation driving device) 102 disposed around the rotationshaft 200, so that the wafer W held by the rotary table 100 can berotated around the rotation axis Ax. The electric driving unit 102(details of which are not illustrated) is configured to transfer amotive power generated by an electric motor to the rotation shaft 200via a power transmission mechanism (for example, a belt and a pulley) torotate the rotation shaft 200. Alternatively, the electric driving unit102 may be configured to rotate the rotation shaft 200 directly by theelectric motor.

The attraction plate 120 is a circular plate-shaped member having adiameter slightly larger than a diameter of the wafer W (or equal to thediameter of the wafer W depending on the configuration), that is, havingan area larger than or equal to an area of the wafer W. The attractionplate 120 has a top surface (front surface) 120A configured to attract abottom surface (a surface which is not a processing target) of the waferW; and a bottom surface (rear surface) 120B which is in contact with atop surface of the hot plate 140. The attraction plate 120 may be madeof a material having high thermal conductivity such as thermalconductive ceramics, for example, SiC. Desirably, the thermalconductivity of the material forming the attraction plate 120 is equalto or higher than 150 W/m·k.

The hot plate 140 is a circular plate-shaped member having a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the attraction plate 120. The hotplate 140 has a plate main body 141 and an electric heater 142 providedin the plate main body 141. The plate main body 141 is made of amaterial having high thermal conductivity such as thermal conductiveceramics, for example, SiC. Desirably, the thermal conductivity of thematerial forming the plate main body 141 is equal to or higher than 150W/m·k.

The heater 142 may be a surface-shaped heater such as a polyimide heaterprovided on a bottom surface (rear surface) of the plate main body 141.Desirably, a multiple number of (for example, ten) heating zones 143-1to 143-10 are set in the hot plate 140, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Theheater 142 are composed of a multiple number of heater elements 142Erespectively provided in the heating zones 143-1 to 143-10. Each heaterelement 142E is formed of a conductor extending in a zigzag shape withinthe corresponding one of the heating zones 143-1 to 143-10. FIG. 3illustrates only the heater element 142E within the heating zone 143-1.

Power can be fed to these heater elements 142E independently by a powerfeeder 300 to be described later. Accordingly, different heating zonesof the wafer W can be heated under different conditions, so that atemperature distribution of the wafer W can be controlled.

As shown in FIG. 4, one or more (two in the shown example) plate suctionholes 144P, one or more (one at a central portion in the shown example)substrate suction hole 144W, one or more (two at an outer side in theshown example) purge gas supply holes 144G are formed at the top surface(front surface) of the plate main body 141. The plate suction holes 144Pare used to transfer a suction force for attracting the attraction plate120 to the hot plate 140. The substrate suction hole 144W is used totransfer a suction force for attracting the wafer W to the attractionplate 120.

Further, the plate main body 141 is provided with a plurality of (threein the shown example) lift pin holes 145L through which lift pins 211 tobe described later pass; and a multiplicity of (six in the shownexample) service holes 145S for accessing assembly screws of the rotarytable 100. In a typical operation mode, the service holes 145S areclosed with caps 145C.

The aforementioned heater elements 142E are arranged, avoiding the platesuction holes 144P, the substrate suction hole 144W, the purge gassupply holes 144G, the lift pin holes 145L and the service holes 145S.Further, by achieving the connection to the rotation shaft 200 throughan electromagnet, the service holes may be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plate bottom surface suction path groove 121P, asubstrate bottom surface suction path groove 121W, a bottom surfacepurge path groove 121G are formed at the bottom surface 120B of theattraction plate 120. When the attraction plate 120 is placed on the hotplate 140 with an appropriate positional relationship, at least a partof the plate bottom surface suction path groove 121P communicates withthe plate suction hole 144P. Likewise, at least a part of the substratebottom surface suction path groove 121W communicates with the substratesuction hole 144W, and at least a part of the bottom surface purge pathgroove 121G communicates with the purge gas supply hole 144G. The platebottom surface suction path groove 121P, the substrate bottom surfacesuction path groove 121W and the bottom surface purge path groove 121Gare disconnected from each other (do not communicate with each other).

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a state in which the suction hole 144P(or 144W, or 144G) of the hot plate 140 are overlapped with andcommunicate with the path groove 121P (or 121W, or 121G) of theattraction plate 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 9, a plurality of (five in the shownexample) thick ring-shaped partition walls 124 is formed on the topsurface 120A of the attraction plate 120. The thick partition walls 124form, at a top surface, a plurality of recess regions 125W and 125G(four annular regions at outer sides and one circular region at theinnermost side) which are disconnected from each other.

Through holes 129W (see FIG. 9), which are formed through the attractionplate 120 in a thickness direction thereof, are formed at the substratebottom surface suction path groove 121W, and each through hole allowsthe substrate bottom surface suction path groove 121W to communicatewith the corresponding one of the plurality of (four in the shownexample) recess regions 125W.

Further, through holes 129G (see FIG. 9), which are formed through theattraction plate 120 in the thickness direction thereof, are formed atthe bottom surface purge path groove 121G, and each through hole allowsthe bottom surface purge path groove 121G to communicate with theoutermost recess region 125G. The outermost recess region 125G serves asa top surface purge path groove having a single circular ring shape.

Substantially ring-shaped narrow separation walls 127 are concentricallyprovided within each of the four recess regions 125W located at theinner side. The narrow separation wall 127 forms at least one topsurface suction path groove 125WG which extends in a zigzag shape withineach recess region 125W. That is, the narrow separation wall 127 servesto distribute the suction force in a uniform manner within each recessregion 125W.

The top surface 120A of the attraction plate 120 may be flat in overall.The top surface 120A of the attraction plate 120 may be gently curved,as schematically illustrated in FIG. 11. It is known that the wafer W iscurved in a certain direction depending on a structure and an array ofdevices formed on the surface of the wafer W. By using the attractionplate 120 whose top surface 120A is curved to conform to the curve ofthe wafer W, the attraction of the wafer W can be securely carried out.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the recess regions 125Wisolated from each other by the partition walls 124 are provided.However, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. By way ofexample, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 12, the partition walls124 may be provided with communication paths 124A through which therecess regions 125W are allowed to communicate with each other. In thisconfiguration, only one through hole 129W may be provided at, forexample, the central portion of the attraction plate 120. Further,without using the thick partition walls 124, the narrow separation walls127 may be formed to have the same structure as that of the partitionwalls 124 in FIG. 12.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a suction/purge unit (suction device) 150 isprovided in the vicinity of the rotation axis Ax. The suction/purge unit150 is equipped with a rotary joint 151 provided within the hollowrotation shaft 200. An upper piece 151A of the rotary joint 151 isconnected with a suction line 152W communicating with the plate suctionhole 144P and the substrate suction hole 144W of the hot plate 140; anda purge gas supply line 152G communicating with the purge gas supplyhole 144G.

Though not shown, the suction line 152W may be branched into a branchsuction line, and this branch suction line may be connected to the platemain body 141 of the hot plate 140 directly under the plate suction hole144P and the substrate suction hole 144W. In this case, verticallyextending through holes may be formed through the plate main body 141,and the branch suction line may be connected to each through hole.Likewise, the purge gas supply line 152G may be branched, and thisbranch purge gas supply line may be connected to the plate main body 141of the hot plate 140 directly under the purge gas supply hole 144G. Inthis configuration, vertically extending through holes may be formedthrough the plate main body 141, and the branch purge gas supply linemay be connected to each through hole. The aforementioned branch suctionline and the branch purge gas supply line are schematically illustratedin FIG. 10 (see reference numerals 152WB and 152GB, respectively).

Alternatively, the suction line 152W and the purge gas supply line 152Gmay be connected to a central portion of the plate main body 141 of thehot plate 140. In this case, a path through which the suction line 152Wis allowed to communicate with the plate suction hole 144P and thesubstrate suction hole 144W and a path through which the purge gassupply line 152G is allowed to communicate with the purge gas supplyhole 144G are provided within the plate main body 141.

The lower piece 151B of the rotary joint 151 is connected with a suctionline 153W communicating with the suction line 152W; and a purge gassupply line 153G communicating with the purge gas supply line 151G. Therotary joint 151 is configured such that the upper piece 151A and thelower piece 151B can be rotated relative to each other while thecommunication between the suction lines 152W and 153W and thecommunication between the purge gas supply lines 152G and 153G aremaintained. The rotary joint 151 itself having this function is onecommonly known.

The suction line 153W is connected to a suction device 154 such as avacuum pump. The purge gas supply line 153G is connected to a purge gassupply device 155. The suction line 153W is also connected to the purgegas supply device 155. Further, there is also provided a switchingdevice 156 (for example, a three-way valve) configured to switch theconnection destination of the suction line 153W between the suctiondevice 154 and the purge gas supply device 155.

The hot plate 140 has therein temperature sensors 146 configured todetect a temperature of the plate main body 141 of the hot plate 140.For example, the temperature sensors 146 may be provided for the tenheating zones 143-1 to 143-10 in one-to-one correspondence. Further, atleast one thermo switch 147 is provided near the heater 142 of the hotplate 140 to detect overheating of the heater 142.

Besides the temperature sensors 146 and the thermo switch 147, controlsignal lines 148A and 148B for transmitting detection signals of thetemperature sensors 146 and the thermo switch 147 and a power feed line149 for supplying power to each heater element 142E of the heater 142are provided within a space S between the hot plate 140 and the supportplate 170.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a switch device 160 is provided in the vicinityof the rotary joint 151. The switch device 160 includes a firstelectrode unit 161A fixed with respect to the direction of the rotationaxis Ax; a second electrode unit 161B configured to be movable in thedirection of the rotation axis Ax; and an electrode moving device 162(elevating device) configured to move the second electrode unit 161B upand down in the direction of the rotation axis Ax.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the first electrode unit 161A is equipped witha first electrode supporting body 163A and a plurality of firstelectrodes 164A supported by the first electrode supporting body 163A.The first electrodes 164A include first electrodes 164AC (indicated bysmall ‘O’ in FIG. 7) for control signal communication connected to thecontrol signal lines 148A and 148B; and first electrodes 164AP(indicated by large “O” in FIG. 7) for heater power feed connected tothe power feed line 149.

The first electrode supporting body 163A is a circular plate-shapedmember in overall. Formed at a central portion of the first electrodesupporting body 163A is a circular hole 167 into which the upper piece151A of the rotary joint 151 is inserted. The upper piece 151A of therotary joint 151 may be fixed to the first electrode supporting body163A. A peripheral portion of the first electrode supporting body 163Amay be screw-coupled to the support plate 170 by using screw holes 171.

As schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, the second electrode unit 161Bis equipped with a second electrode supporting body 163B and a pluralityof second electrodes 164B supported by the second electrode supportingbody 163B. In overall, the second electrode supporting body 163B is acircular plate-shaped member having the same diameter as that of thefirst electrode supporting body 163A shown in FIG. 7. Formed at acentral portion of the second electrode supporting body 163B is acircular hole through which the lower piece 151B of the rotary joint 151can pass.

The second electrodes 164B configured to be connected to/disconnectedfrom the first electrodes 164A by being moved up and down with respectto the first electrodes 164A have the same layout as that of the firstelectrodes 164A. Hereinafter, the second electrodes 164B (power feedingelectrode) configured to come into contact with the first electrodes164AP (power receiving electrode) for heater power feed will also bereferred to as “second electrodes 164BP”. Further, the second electrodes164B configured to be brought into contact with the first electrodes164AC for control signal communication will also be referred to as“second electrodes 164BC”. The second electrodes 164BP are connected toa power output terminal of a power feed device (power feeder) 300. Thesecond electrodes 164BC are connected to a control input/output terminalof the power feeder 300.

At least a part of conductive paths 168A, 168B and 169 (see FIG. 2)connecting the second electrodes 164B and the power output terminal andthe control input/output terminal of the power feeder 300 is made of aflexible wire. Due to the flexible wire, the entire second electrodeunit 161B can be rotated around the rotation axis Ax in a forwardrotation direction and in a backward rotation direction from a neutralposition at a preset angle while maintaining the electric conductionbetween the second electrodes 164B and the power feeder 300. The presetangle may be, by way of example, 180 degrees, but not limited thereto.This means that the rotary table 100 can be rotated about ±180 degreeswhile maintaining the connection between the first electrodes 164A andthe second electrodes 164B.

One of the first electrode 164A and the second electrode 164B in eachpair may be configured as a pogo pin. In FIG. 2, all the secondelectrodes 164B are configured as the pogo pins. Here, the term “pogopin” is widely used to imply an extensible/contractible rod-shapedelectrode having a spring embedded therein. Instead of the pogo pin, asocket, a magnet electrode, an induction electrode, or the like may beused as the electrode.

Desirably, there may be provided a lock device 165 configured to lockthe first electrode supporting body 163A and the second electrodesupporting body 163B not to be rotated relative to each other when thefirst electrode 164A and the second electrode 164B in each pair are inappropriate contact with each other. By way of example, as shown in FIG.2, the lock device 165 may be composed of a hole 165A provided at thefirst electrode supporting body 163A; and a pin 165B provided at thesecond electrode supporting body 163B and configured to be fitted intothe hole 165A.

It may be desirable to provide a device 172 (schematically illustratedin FIG. 2) configured to detect an appropriate contact between the firstelectrode 164A and the second electrode 164B in each pair. This device172 may be an angular position sensor configured to detect a state inwhich an angular positional relationship between the first electrodesupporting body 163A and the second electrode supporting body 163B isappropriate. Alternatively, this device 172 may be a distance sensor(not shown) configured to detect a state in which a distance between thefirst electrode supporting body 163A and the second electrode supportingbody 163B in the direction of the rotation axis Ax is appropriate. Stillalternatively, a contact type sensor (not shown) configured to detect anappropriate engagement of the pin 165B into the hole 165A of the lockdevice 165 may be provided.

The electrode moving device 162 schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 maybe equipped with, though not shown, a push rod configured to push thesecond electrode supporting body 163B upwards; and an elevating device(an air cylinder, a ball screw, or the like) configured to move the pushrod up and down (first configuration example). For example, when usingthis configuration, a permanent magnet may be provided at the firstelectrode supporting body 163A, and an electromagnet may be provided atthe second electrode supporting body 163B. With this configuration, whennecessary, the first electrode unit 161A and the second electrode unit161B can be coupled not to be moved relative to each other in thevertical direction, and the first electrode unit 161A and the secondelectrode unit 161B can be disconnected from each other.

When adopting the first configuration example, if theconnection/disconnection between the first electrode unit 161A and thesecond electrode unit 161B are performed at the same angular position onthe rotary table 100, the second electrode unit 161B need not besupported to be rotatable around the rotation axis Ax. That is, only amember (for example, the aforementioned push rod, or another supporttable) configured to support the second electrode unit 161B when thefirst electrode unit 161A and the second electrode unit 161B aredisconnected from each other needs to be provided.

Instead of the aforementioned first configuration example, a secondconfiguration example may be adopted. Though not illustrated in detail,the second configuration example of the electrode moving device 162includes a first ring-shaped member having a circular ring shapecentered on the rotation axis Ax; a second ring-shaped member configuredto support the first ring-shaped member; a bearing provided between thefirst and second ring-shaped members and configured to allow the firstand second ring-shaped members to be rotated relative to each other; andan elevating device (such as an air cylinder, a ball screw, or the like)configured to move the second ring-shaped member up and down.

In the first configuration example and the second configuration example,it is possible to rotate the first electrode unit 161A and the secondelectrode unit 161B together within a limited range while keeping thefirst electrode 164A and the second electrode 164B of each pair in anappropriate contact with each other.

The electric driving unit 102 of the rotary table 100 has a positioningfunction of stopping the rotary table 100 at a certain rotationalangular position. This positioning function can be implemented byrotating a motor of the electric driving unit 102 based on a detectionvalue of a rotary encoder embedded in the rotary table 100 (or a memberrotated by the rotary table 100). By raising the second electrode unit161B with the electrode moving device 162 while keeping the rotary table100 stopped at the preset rotational angular position, correspondingelectrodes of the first electrode unit 161A and the second electrodeunit 161B can be brought into contact with each other appropriately.When disconnecting the second electrode unit 161B from the firstelectrode unit 161A, it is desirable to perform this disconnection inthe state that the rotary table 100 is stopped at the preset rotationalangular position.

As stated above, the various electronic components (heater, wiring,sensors) are disposed within the space S between the attraction plate120 and the support plate 170 and at the positions facing the space S.The periphery cover body 180 suppresses a processing liquid supplied tothe wafer W, particularly, a corrosive chemical liquid from entering thespace S, thus protecting the electronic components. A purge gas (N₂ gas)may be supplied into the space S through a pipeline (not shown) branchedfrom the purge gas supply line 152G. By supplying the purge gas into thespace S in this way, a corrosive gas originated from the chemical liquidcan be suppressed from reaching the inside of the space S from theoutside thereof, so that the space S can be maintained in anon-corrosive atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 2, the periphery cover body 180 has an upper portion181, a side peripheral portion 182 and a lower portion 183. The upperportion 181 is protruded above the attraction plate 120 and connected tothe attraction plate 120. The lower portion 183 of the periphery coverbody 180 is coupled to the support plate 170.

An inner edge of the upper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180is located at an inner side than an outer edge of the attraction plate120 in a radial direction thereof. The upper portion 181 has a circularring-shaped bottom surface 184 in contact with the top surface of theattraction plate 120; an inclined circular ring-shaped inner peripheralsurface 185 starting from an inner edge of the bottom surface 184; and acircular ring-shaped outer peripheral surface 186 extendingsubstantially horizontally outwards in the radial direction from anouter edge of the inner peripheral surface 185. The inner peripheralsurface 185 is inclined to be lowered as it approaches the centralportion of the attraction plate 120.

It is desirable to provide a seal between the top surface 120A of theattraction plate 120 and the bottom surface 184 of the upper portion 181of the periphery cover body 180 to suppress the liquid from beingintroduced. The seal may be an O-ring 192 disposed between the topsurface 120A and the bottom surface 184.

As depicted in FIG. 5, a part of the plate bottom surface suction pathgroove 121P extends in the circumferential direction at the outermostportion of the attraction plate 120. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, agroove 193 extends continuously in the circumferential direction at theoutermost portion of the top surface 120A of the attraction plate 120.As illustrated in FIG. 9, the plate bottom surface suction path groove121P at the outermost portions and the groove 193 communicate with eachother via multiple through holes 129P which are formed through theattraction plate 120 in a thickness direction and arranged at a regulardistance therebetween in the circumferential direction. The bottomsurface 184 of the upper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 isplaced on the groove 193. Accordingly, the bottom surface 184 of theupper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 is attracted to thetop surface 120A of the attraction plate 120 by a negative pressureacting on the plate bottom surface suction path groove 121P. Since theO-ring 192 is squashed through this attraction, secure sealing isachieved.

A height of the outer peripheral surface 186, that is, a top portion ofthe periphery cover body 180 is higher than a height of the wafer W heldby the attraction plate 120. Accordingly, if the processing liquid issupplied onto the top surface of the wafer W in the state that the waferW is held by the attraction plate 120, a liquid accumulation (puddle),in which the wafer W can be immersed so that the top surface of thewafer W is located under a liquid surface LS, can be formed. That is,the upper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 forms anembankment surrounding the wafer W held by the attraction plate 120. Arecess portion in which the processing liquid can be stored is formedand confined by this embankment and the attraction plate 120.

An inclination of the inner peripheral surface 185 of the upper portion181 of the periphery cover body 180 facilitates outward scattering ofthe processing liquid within the aforementioned recess portion when therotary table 100 is rotated at a high speed. That is, this inclinationsuppresses the liquid from staying on the inner peripheral surface ofthe upper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 when the rotarytable 100 is rotated at the high speed.

A rotary cup 188 (rotary liquid-receiving member) configured to berotated along with the periphery cover body 180 is provided at anoutside of the periphery cover body 180 in the radial direction. Therotary cup 188 is connected to a constituent component of the rotarytable 100, that is, the periphery cover body 180 in the shown example,via a plurality of connecting members 189 arranged at a regular distancetherebetween in the circumferential direction. An upper end of therotary cup 188 is located at a height where the processing liquidscattered from the wafer W can be received. A passageway 190 throughwhich the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W flows down isformed between an outer surface of the side peripheral portion 182 ofthe periphery cover body 180 and an inner surface of the rotary cup 188.

A liquid recovery cup 800 surrounds the rotary table 100 and collectsthe processing liquid scattered from the wafer W. In the shown exemplaryembodiment, the liquid recovery cup 800 includes a stationary outer cupcomponent 801, a first movable cup component 802 and a second movablecup component 803 configured to be movable up and down, and a stationaryinner cup component 804. A first drain passageway 806, a second drainpassageway 807 and a third drain passageway 808 are formed between theneighboring cup components (that is, between 801 and 802, between 802and 803, and between 803 and 804). By varying the positions of the firstand second movable cup components 802 and 803, the processing liquidflown out from the passageway 190 between the periphery cover body 180and the rotary cup 188 can be guided into a selected one of the threedrain passageways 806 to 808. Each of the first drain passageway 806,the second drain passageway 807 and the third drain passageway 808 isconnected to any one of an acidic liquid drain passageway, an alkalineliquid drain passageway and an organic liquid drain passageway (all ofwhich are not illustrated) which are provided in a semiconductormanufacturing factory. A non-illustrated gas-liquid separating structureis provided within each of the first drain passageway 806, the seconddrain passageway 807 and the third drain passageway 808. The first drainpassageway 806, the second drain passageway 807 and the third drainpassageway 808 are connected to and suctioned by a factory exhaustsystem via an exhaust device (not shown) such as an ejector. This liquidrecovery cup 800 is well-known by Japanese Patent Laid-open PublicationNo. 2012-129462, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2014-123713,Japanese laid-open publication pertinent to the present application bythe present applicant, and so forth. For details of this liquid recoverycup, these documents may be referred to.

Three lift pin holes 128L and three lift pin hoes 171L are formed at theattraction plate 120 and the support plate 170, respectively, to bealigned with the three lift pin holes 145L of the hot plate 140 in thedirection of the rotation axis Ax.

The rotary table 100 is equipped with a plurality of (three in the shownexample) lift pins 211 inserted through the lift pin holes 145L, 128Land 171L. The lift pins 211 can be moved between a transfer position(raised position) where an upper end of the lift pin 211 protrudes abovethe top surface 120A of the attraction plate 120 and a processingposition (lowered position) where the upper end of the lift pin 211 islocated under the top surface 120A of the attraction plate 120.

A push rod 212 is provided under each lift pin 211. The push rod 212 canbe moved up and down by an elevating device 213, for example, an aircylinder. By pushing lower ends of the lift pins 211 upwards with thepush rods 212, the lift pins 211 can be raised to the transfer position.Alternatively, the push rods 212 may be provided at a ring-shapedsupport body (not shown) centered on the rotation axis Ax and moved upand down by moving the ring-shaped support body up and down by a commonelevating device.

The wafer W placed on the lift pins 211 at the transfer position islocated at a height position higher than an upper end 809 of thestationary outer cup component 801, and this wafer W can be transferredto/from an arm (see FIG. 1) of the substrate transfer device 17 advancedinto the processing unit 16.

If the push rod 212 is distanced away from the lift pin 211, the liftpin 211 is lowered down to the processing position by an elastic forceof a return spring 214 and held at this processing position. In FIG. 2,a reference numeral 215 denotes a guide member configured to guide thevertical movement of the lift pin 211, and a reference numeral 216indicates a spring seat configured to receive the return spring 214.Further, a circular ring-shaped recess 810 is formed at the stationaryinner cup component 804 to allow rotation of the spring seat 216 aroundthe rotation axis Ax.

The processing liquid supply 700 is equipped with a multiple number ofnozzles. These nozzles include a chemical liquid nozzle 701, a rinsenozzle 702, and a drying accelerator liquid nozzle 703. A chemicalliquid is supplied into the chemical liquid nozzle 701 from a chemicalliquid source 701A via a chemical liquid supply mechanism 701B includinga flow control device (not shown) such as a flow rate control valve andan opening/closing valve which are provided at a chemical liquid supplyline (pipeline) 701C. A rinse liquid is supplied into the rinse nozzle702 from a rinse liquid source 702A via a rinse liquid supply mechanism702B including a flow control device (not shown) such as a flow ratecontrol valve and an opening/closing valve which are provided at a rinseliquid supply line (pipeline) 702C. A drying accelerator liquid, forexample, IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) is supplied into the drying acceleratorliquid nozzle 703 from a drying accelerator liquid source 703A via adrying accelerator liquid supply mechanism 703B including a flow controldevice (not shown) such as a flow rate control valve and anopening/closing valve which are provided at a drying accelerator supplyline (pipeline) 703C.

The chemical liquid supply line 701C may be equipped with a heater 701Das a temperature control device for controlling a temperature of thechemical liquid. Further, a tape heater (not shown) for controlling thetemperature of the chemical liquid may be provided at a pipelineconstituting the chemical liquid supply line 701C. Likewise, the rinseliquid supply line 702C may also be equipped with such a heater.

The chemical liquid nozzle 701, the rinse nozzle 702 and the dryingaccelerator liquid nozzle 703 are supported by a leading end of a nozzlearm 704. A base end of the nozzle arm 704 is supported by a nozzle armdriving device 705 configured to move up and down and rotate the nozzlearm 704. The chemical liquid nozzle 701, the rinse nozzle 702 and thedrying accelerator liquid nozzle 703 can be placed at a certain positionabove the wafer Win the radial direction of the wafer W (a position withrespect to the radial direction of the wafer W) by the nozzle arm movingdevice 705.

Disposed at a ceiling of the housing 900 are a wafer sensor 901configured to detect a presence or absence of the wafer W on the rotarytable 100 and one or more infrared thermometers 902 (only one isillustrated) configured to detect a temperature of the wafer W (or atemperature of the processing liquid on the wafer W). In a configurationin which multiple infrared thermometers 902 are provided, it isdesirable that the individual infrared thermometers 902 are configuredto detect a temperature of regions of the wafer W corresponding to theheating zones 143-1 to 143-10, respectively.

Now, with reference to a time chart of FIG. 8, an operation of theprocessing unit 16 will be explained for a case where the processingunit 16 performs a chemical liquid cleaning processing. The operation tobe described below can be carried out under the control of the controldevice 4 (controller 18) shown in FIG. 1 which controls operations ofthe various kinds of components of the processing unit 16.

On the time chart of FIG. 8, a horizontal axis represents a lapse oftime. A vertical axis shows the following items in sequence from thetop.

“PIN” denotes a height position of the lift pin 211. “UP” indicates thatthe lift pin 211 is located at the transfer position, and “DOWN”indicates that the lift pin 211 is located at the processing position.

“EL2” denotes a height position of the second electrode unit 161B. “UP”indicates that the second electrode unit 161B is located at a heightposition where it is in contact with the first electrode unit 161A, and“DOWN” indicates that the second electrode unit 161B is located at aheight position distanced apart from the first electrode unit 161A.

“POWER” denotes a state of the power feed to the heater 142 from thepower feeder 300. “ON” indicates a state where the power feed is beingperformed, and “OFF” indicates a state in which the power feed isstopped.

“VAC” denotes a state of the application of the suction force from thesuction device 154 to the bottom surface suction path groove 121W of theattraction plate 120. “ON” indicates that the suctioning is beingperformed, and “OFF” indicates that the suctioning is stopped.

“N₂-1” indicates a state of the supply of the purge gas from the purgegas supply device 155 into the bottom surface suction path groove 121Wof the attraction plate 120. “ON” indicates that the supply of the purgegas is being performed, and “OFF” indicates the supply of the purge gasis stopped.

“N₂-2” denotes a state of the supply of the purge gas from the purge gassupply device 155 into the bottom surface purge path groove 121G of theattraction plate 120. “ON” indicates that the supply of the purge gas isbeing performed, and “OFF” indicates the supply of the purge gas isstopped.

“WSC” denotes an operational status of the wafer sensor 901. “ON”indicates a state in which the wafer sensor 901 is detecting thepresence or absence of the wafer W on the attraction plate 120, and“OFF” indicates a state in which the wafer sensor 901 does not performthe detection. Further, “On Wafer Check” is a detecting operation ofchecking whether the wafer W is present on the attraction plate 120.“OFF Wafer Check” is a detecting operation of checking whether the waferW is removed from the attraction plate 120 completely.

[Carry-In Process (Holding Process) for Wafer W]

The arm of the substrate transfer device 17 (see FIG. 1) advances intothe processing unit 16 to be placed directly above the attraction plate120, and the lift pins 211 are placed at the transfer position (times t0to t1). In this state, the arm of the substrate transfer device 17 islowered. Accordingly, the wafer W is distanced apart from the arm bybeing placed on the upper ends of the lift pins 211. Then, the arm ofthe substrate transfer device 17 is retreated out of the processing unit16. The lift pins 211 are lowered down to the processing position, andin the meanwhile, the wafer W is placed on the top surface 120A of theattraction plate 120 (time t1).

Subsequently, as the suction device 154 is operated, the attractionplate 120 is attracted to the hot plate 140, and the wafer W isattracted to the attraction plate 120 (time t1). Thereafter, aninspection by the wafer sensor 901 to inspect whether the wafer W isappropriately attracted to the attraction plate 120 is begun (time t2).

The purge gas (e.g., N₂ gas) is constantly supplied to the outermostrecess region 125G on the top surface of the attraction plate 120 fromthe purge gas supply device 155. Accordingly, even if there exists a gapbetween the contact surfaces of the peripheral portion of the bottomsurface of the wafer W and the peripheral portion of the attractionplate 120, the processing liquid is suppressed from being introducedsomewhere between the peripheral portion of the wafer W and theperipheral portion of the attraction plate 120 through this gap.

The second electrode unit 161B is placed at the raised position and thefirst electrodes 164A of the first electrode unit 161A and the secondelectrodes 164B of the second electrode unit 161B are in contact witheach other from a time before the carry-in of the wafer W is begun(before time t0). The power is fed to the heater 142 of the hot plate140 from the power feeder 300, and the heater 142 of the hot plate 140is in a pre-heated state.

[Wafer Heating Process]

Once the wafer W is attracted to the attraction plate 120, the power fedto the heater 142 of the hot plate 140 is adjusted to allow thetemperature of the hot plate 140 to reach a preset temperature (atemperature where the wafer W on the attraction plate 120 is heated to atemperature appropriate for a processing performed afterwards) (times t1to t3).

[Chemical Liquid Processing Process (Including Puddle Forming Processand Agitating Process)]

Subsequently, the chemical liquid nozzle 701 is placed directly abovethe central portion of the wafer W by the nozzle arm of the processingliquid supply 700. In this state, the chemical liquid whose temperatureis adjusted is supplied onto the front surface (top surface) of thewafer W from the chemical liquid nozzle 701 (times t3 to t4). The supplyof the chemical liquid is continued until the liquid surface LS of thechemical liquid becomes higher than the top surface of the wafer W. Atthis time, the upper portion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 servesas the embankment, suppressing the chemical liquid from flowing over tothe outside of the rotary table 100.

During the supply of the chemical liquid or after the supply of thechemical liquid, the rotary table 100 is rotated in the forwarddirection and in the backward direction alternately (for example, byabout 180 degrees). Accordingly, the chemical liquid is agitated, andthe reaction between the front surface of the wafer W and the chemicalliquid can be uniformed within the surface of the wafer W.

In general, the temperature of the peripheral portion of the wafer Wtends to be reduced due to an influence of an air flow attracted intothe liquid recovery cup. Among the multiple number of heater elements142E of the heater 142, the power to be fed to the heater elements 142Ein charge of the heating of the peripheral region of the wafer W (theheating zones 143-1 to 143-4) may be increased. As a result, thetemperature of the wafer W can be uniformed within the surface thereof,so that the reaction between the front surface of the wafer W and thechemical liquid can be uniformed within the surface of the wafer W.

During this chemical liquid processing, the control over the power to befed to the heater 142 can be carried out based on the detection value ofthe temperature sensor 146 provided at the hot plate 140. Instead, thecontrol over the power to be fed to the heater 142 may be performedbased on the detection value of the infrared thermometer 902 whichdetects the surface temperature of the wafer W. By using the detectionvalue of the infrared thermometer 902, a more accurate temperaturecontrol of the wafer W can be achieved. The control over the power to befed to the heater 142 may be performed based on the detection value ofthe temperature sensor 146 in an early stage of the chemical liquidprocessing, and then, based on the detection value of the infraredthermometer 902 in a later stage thereof.

[Chemical Liquid Scattering Process (Chemical Liquid Removing Process)]

Upon the completion of the chemical liquid processing, the power feed tothe heater 142 from the power feeder 300 is first stopped (time t4), andthe second electrode unit 161B is moved to the lowered position (timet5). By stopping the power feed first, generation of a spark between theelectrodes can be avoided when the second electrodes 161B are lowered.

Then, by rotating the rotary table 100 at a high speed, the chemicalliquid on the wafer W is scattered outwards by the centrifugal force(times t5 to t6). Since the inner peripheral surface 185 of the upperportion 181 of the periphery cover body 180 is inclined, the chemicalliquid existing at the inner side than the upper portion 181 in theradial direction (including the chemical liquid on the wafer W) issmoothly removed completely. The scattered chemical liquid falls downthrough the passageway 190 between the rotary cup 188 and the peripherycover body 180 to be received by the liquid recovery cup 800. At thistime, the first and second movable cup components 802 and 803 arelocated at the appropriate positions so that the scattered chemicalliquid is guided into the drain passageway (one of the first drainpassageway 806, the second drain passageway 807 and the third drainpassageway 808) suitable for the kind of the chemical liquid.

[Rinsing Process]

Subsequently, while rotating the rotary table 100 at a low speed, therinse nozzle 702 is placed directly above the central portion of thewafer W, and the rinse liquid is supplied from the rinse nozzle 702(times t6 to t7). Accordingly, the chemical liquid remaining at theinner side than the upper portion 181 in the radial direction (includingthe chemical liquid left on the wafer W) is completely washed away bythe rinse liquid.

The rinse liquid supplied from the rinse nozzle 702 may be a rinseliquid of a room temperature or a heated rinse liquid. When supplyingthe heated rinse liquid, it is possible to suppress the temperatures ofthe attraction plate 120 and the hot plate 140 from being declined. Theheated rinse liquid may be supplied from a factory supply system.Instead, a heater (not shown) may be provided on the rinse liquid supplyline connected between the rinse liquid source 702A and the rinse nozzle702 to heat the rinse liquid of the room temperature.

[Scattering Drying Process]

Then, by stopping the discharge of the rinse liquid from the rinsenozzle 702 while rotating the rotary table 100 at a high speed, thewhole rinse liquid remaining at the inner region than the upper portion181 in the radial direction (including the rinse liquid left on thewafer W) is scattered outwards by a centrifugal force (times t7 to t8).Accordingly, the wafer W is dried.

Between the rinsing processing and the drying processing, the dryingaccelerator liquid may be supplied onto the wafer W to replace the wholerinse liquid remaining at the inner region than the upper portion 181 inthe radial direction (including the rinse liquid remaining on the waferW) with the drying accelerator liquid. Desirably, the drying acceleratorliquid may have higher volatility and lower surface tension as comparedto the rinse liquid. The drying accelerator liquid may be, by way ofexample, but not limitation, IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol).

After the scattering drying process, a heating/drying process of heatingthe wafer W may be performed. In this case, the rotation of the rotarytable 100 is stopped first. Then, the second electrode unit 161B ismoved to the raised position (time t8). Then, the power is fed from thepower feeder 300 to the heater 142 (time t9). Accordingly, thetemperature of the wafer W is raised (desirably, at a high speed), andthe rinse liquid (or the drying accelerator liquid) remaining at theperipheral portion of the wafer W and the vicinity thereof is removed bybeing evaporated. Since the front surface of the wafer W is driedsufficiently by performing the scattering drying process with theaforementioned IPA, the heating/drying by the heater 142 need not beperformed. That is, on the time chart of FIG. 8, the operations from thetime between the times t7 and t8 and the time between the times t10 tot11 may be omitted.

[Wafer Carry-Out Process]

Thereafter, by switching the switching device (three-way valve) 156, theconnection of the suction line 153W to the suction device 154 is cut,and the suction line 153W is connected to the purge gas supply device155. Accordingly, the purge gas is supplied into the plate bottomsurface suction path groove 121P, and, further, the purge gas issupplied into the recess region 125W on the top surface 120A of theattraction plate 120 through the substrate bottom surface suction pathgroove 121W. As a result, the attraction of the wafer W to theattraction plate 120 is released (time t10).

Along with the aforementioned operation, the attraction of theattraction plate 120 to the hot plate 140 is also released. Since theattraction of the attraction plate 120 to the hot plate 140 need not bereleased whenever the processing on the single sheet of wafer W iscompleted, a pipeline system in which this release of the attraction isnot performed may be used.

Subsequently, the lift pins 211 are raised to the transfer position(time t11). Since the attraction of the wafer W to the attraction plate120 is released through the aforementioned purging, the wafer W can beeasily separated from the attraction plate 120. Therefore, the damage onthe wafer W can be avoided.

Then, the wafer W placed on the lift pins 211 is lifted and taken by thearm of the substrate transfer device 17 (see FIG. 1) to be carried tothe outside of the processing unit 16 (time t12). Thereafter, it isinspected by the wafer sensor 901 whether the wafer W does not exist onthe attraction plate 120. Through the above-stated operations, a seriesof processings upon the single sheet of wafer W is ended.

The chemical liquid used in the chemical liquid cleaning processing maybe, by way of non-limiting example, SC1, SPM (sulfuric acid hydrogenperoxide mixture), H₃PO₄ (phosphoric acid aqueous solution) or the like.As an example, the temperature of the SC1 is in the range from a roomtemperature to 70° C.; the temperature of the SPM is in the range from100° C. to 120° C.; and the temperature of the H₃PO₄ is in the rangefrom 100° C. to 165° C. When the chemical liquid is supplied at atemperature higher than the room temperature, the aforementionedexemplary embodiment is advantageous.

According to the above-described exemplary embodiment, since theattraction plate 120 is attracted to the hot plate 140 by thesuctioning, it is possible to replace the attraction plate 120 easily.Thus, when the attraction plate 120 is contaminated or damaged, forexample, the attraction plate 120 can be easily replaced, and theproblem can be solved easily. Further, since the attraction plate 120 isin firm contact with the hot plate 140 through the suctioning, thesufficient thermal conduction between the attraction plate 120 and thehot plate 140 can be achieved. That is, the decrease of the thermalconduction that might be caused by configuring the attraction plate 120and the hot plate 140 as individual members can be minimized.Furthermore, as stated above, when processing the wafers W havingdifferent curved patterns, it is possible to cope with this varietyeasily by replacing the attraction plate 120.

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, the plate bottom surfacesuction path groove 121P and the substrate bottom surface suction pathgroove 121W, which are formed on the bottom surface 120B of theattraction plate 120, are disconnected from each other. However, theexemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. The bottom surface suctionpath grooves 121P and 121W may be combined by being allowed tocommunicate with each other. In such a case, a through hole throughwhich the combined path groove and the recess region 125W of the topsurface 120A communicate with each other may be formed at the combinedpath groove. Further, in this case, the plate suction hole 144P and thesubstrate suction hole 144W need not be provided separately on the topsurface of the plate main body 141.

By using the above-described processing unit 16, a plating processing(particularly, an electroless plating processing) may be performed asthe liquid processing. In case of performing the electroless platingprocessing, a pre-cleaning process (chemical liquid cleaning process), aplating process, a rinsing process, a post-cleaning process (chemicalliquid cleaning process), an IPA replacement process, a scatteringdrying process (a subsequent heating/drying process when necessary) areperformed in sequence. In the plating process among these processes, analkaline chemical liquid (electroless plating liquid) having atemperature ranging from, e.g., 50° C. to 70° C. is used as theprocessing liquid. Processing liquids (chemical liquids and rinseliquids) used in the pre-cleaning process, the rinsing process, thepost-cleaning process and the IPA replacement process are all of a roomtemperature. Thus, in the plating process, the same process as the waferheating process and the chemical liquid processing process needs to beperformed. In the pre-cleaning process, the rinsing process, thepost-cleaning process and the IPA replacement process, the necessaryprocessing liquids need to be supplied onto the top surface of the waferW attracted to the attraction plate 120 while rotating the rotary tablein the state that the first electrode 164A and the second electrode 164Bare spaced apart from each other. Here, enough nozzles and processingliquid sources to supply the necessary processing liquids are providedin the processing liquid supply 700.

According to the exemplary embodiments, the part (attraction plate) ofthe rotary table configured to be in contact with the substrate can beeasily replaced.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intendedto be limiting. The scope of the inventive concept is defined by thefollowing claims and their equivalents rather than by the detaileddescription of the exemplary embodiments. It shall be understood thatall modifications and embodiments conceived from the meaning and scopeof the claims and their equivalents are included in the scope of theinventive concept.

We claim:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a rotarytable comprising a base plate and an attraction plate, the base platehaving a front surface in which at least one suction hole is provided,and the attraction plate having a front surface contacted with anon-processing surface of a substrate to attract the substrate; a rearsurface contacted with the front surface of the base plate; and at leastone through hole through which the front surface of the attraction plateand the rear surface of the attraction plate are connected; a rotationdriving device configured to rotate the rotary table around a rotationaxis; and a suction device configured to act a suction force on the atleast one suction hole of the base plate, configured to firmly contactthe base plate with the attraction plate by acting the suction forcebetween the base plate and the attraction plate, and configured tofirmly contact the attraction plate with the substrate by acting thesuction force between the attraction plate and the substrate through theat least one through hole.
 2. The substrate processing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein at least one front surface suction path groovecommunicating with the at least one through hole is formed in the frontsurface of the attraction plate, at least one rear surface suction pathgroove communicating with the at least one suction hole of the baseplate is formed in the rear surface of the attraction plate, and the atleast one front surface suction path groove distributes the suctionforce within the front surface of the attraction plate.
 3. The substrateprocessing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one suction holeof the base plate includes a first suction hole and a second suctionhole, the at least one rear surface suction path groove includes a firstrear surface suction path groove communicating with the first suctionhole, and a second rear surface suction path groove communicating withthe second suction hole, the suction force acting on the first rearsurface suction path groove firmly contacts the base plate with theattraction plate, and the first rear surface suction path groovedistributes the suction force within the rear surface of the attractionplate, and the at least one through hole communicate the second rearsurface suction path groove with the at least one front surface suctionpath groove, and the suction force acting on the at least one frontsurface suction path groove through the second rear surface suction pathgroove and the at least one through hole firmly contacts the attractionplate with the substrate.
 4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim3, wherein the at least one front surface suction path groove includesmultiple front surface suction path grooves, and the multiple frontsurface suction path grooves are arranged concentrically, the at leastone through hole includes multiple through holes, and the multiplethrough holes communicate with the front surface suction path grooves inone-to-one correspondence.
 5. The substrate processing apparatus ofclaim 4, further comprising: a purge gas supply configured to supply apurge gas; and a switching device configured to switch a state in whichthe purge gas supply is connected to, among the at least one suctionhole of the base plate, at least a suction hole communicating with theat least one front surface suction path groove and a state in which thesuction device is connected to at least the suction hole communicatingwith the at least one front surface suction path groove.
 6. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: a purgegas supply configured to supply a purge gas; and a switching deviceconfigured to switch a state in which the purge gas supply is connectedto, among the at least one suction hole of the base plate, at least asuction hole communicating with the at least one front surface suctionpath groove and a state in which the suction device is connected to atleast the suction hole communicating with the at least one front surfacesuction path groove.
 7. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2,wherein the at least one front surface suction path groove includesmultiple front surface suction path grooves, and the multiple frontsurface suction path grooves are arranged concentrically, the at leastone through hole includes multiple through holes, and the multiplethrough holes communicate with the front surface suction path grooves inone-to-one correspondence.
 8. The substrate processing apparatus ofclaim 7, further comprising: a purge gas supply configured to supply apurge gas; and a switching device configured to switch a state in whichthe purge gas supply is connected to, among the at least one suctionhole of the base plate, at least a suction hole communicating with theat least one front surface suction path groove and a state in which thesuction device is connected to at least the suction hole communicatingwith the at least one front surface suction path groove.
 9. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: a purgegas supply configured to supply a purge gas; and a switching deviceconfigured to switch a state in which the purge gas supply is connectedto, among the at least one suction hole of the base plate, at least asuction hole communicating with the at least one front surface suctionpath groove and a state in which the suction device is connected to atleast the suction hole communicating with the at least one front surfacesuction path groove.
 10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: a purge gas supply configured to supply a purge gas,wherein a purge path groove continuously extending in a circumferentialdirection is formed on a peripheral portion of the front surface of theattraction plate, a purge gas supply hole communicating with the purgegas supply is formed in the front surface of the base plate, acommunication hole is formed through the attraction plate in a thicknessdirection thereof, and communicates the purge gas supply hole with thepurge path groove, and the purge gas is configured to suppress a fluidfrom being introduced into a gap between the attraction plate and aperipheral portion of the substrate.
 11. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising: multiple lift pins configuredto move the substrate up and down to place the substrate on theattraction plate and separate the substrate from the attraction plate;and a lift pin elevating device configured to move the multiple liftpins up and down, wherein through holes are formed through theattraction plate and the base plate at positions where the lift pinspass therethrough when the attraction plate is contacted with the baseplate in a preset positional relationship and when the substrate iscontacted with the attraction plate in a preset positional relationship.12. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the baseplate is formed of a hot plate equipped with an electric heater.
 13. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the attraction plateis thinner than the hot plate.
 14. The substrate processing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein a central portion of the front surface of theattraction plate is higher than a peripheral portion thereof, or theperipheral portion of the front surface of the attraction plate ishigher than the central portion thereof.
 15. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the attraction plate is formed of athermal conductive ceramics having a thermal conductivity equal to orhigher than 150 W/m·k.
 16. The substrate processing apparatus of claim1, wherein the attraction plate and the base plate have a circularshape, when viewed from a direction of the rotation axis.
 17. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 16, wherein the attraction platehas a diameter equal to or larger than a diameter of the substrate, whenviewed from the direction of the rotation axis.